Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Davis R M Inc.

Davis R M Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 401,187 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,070 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for approximately 1.4% of Davis R M Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $71,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,202,000. Swedbank AB raised its position in Waste Connections by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,297,000 after buying an additional 11,774 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth $451,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 86.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 5,078 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE WCN opened at $189.87 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $49.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.16, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.15 and a 52 week high of $190.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.